The top-ranked University
of Minnesota wrestling team downed No. 10 Penn State, 31-12, in its
Big Ten opener on Sunday at the Sports Pavilion. The Golden Gophers
earned bonus points in four of the first five matches, including a pin
by fifth-ranked Jayson Ness over No. 2 Mark McKnight in the marquee
match of the day. Ness pulled off the upset in exciting fashion with
the fall in 4:55.
Senior heavyweight Cole Konrad capped off the dual with a 5-1 victory
over No. 11 Aaron Anspach. With the win, Konrad now holds the record
for the longest winning streak in school history at 59 matches,
surpassing Tim Hartung, who set the previous record in 1999.
With the win, the Gophers improved to 12-1 on the season overall, while
the Nittany Lions have dropped their first two conference dual meets
and sit at 9-4 overall on the year.
Ness was forced to come from behind a couple of times against McKnight
but took control of the match with a takedown 30 seconds into the
second period. Ness rode McKnight the rest of the way before rolling
him to his back to earn the dramatic pin with just five
seconds
remaining in the period and put the Gophers up 6-0. With the win, Ness
improved to 25-3 on the season.
The Nittany Lions got three points back with fourth-ranked Jake
Strayer’s 14-7 decision over Mike Thorn, but the middle of Minnesota’s
lineup followed with a typically dominating performance, earning bonus
points in each of the next three matches.
Manuel Rivera, who moved up to No. 2 in the rankings this week, started
the rally with a 16-1 tech fall over unranked Bryan Heller. Rivera held
a 4-1 lead after the first period before piling it on in the second,
scoring an escape, a takedown and a pair of three-point near falls to
extend his lead to 13-1. After starting down in the third, Rivera got
the escape midway through the period and scored the decisive takedown
with 27 seconds remaining. With the win, Rivera remained unbeaten on
the season at 27-0.
Top-ranked Dustin Schlatter also kept his unblemished record intact
with a 15-4 major decision over Dan Vallimont. Schlatter went to work
right away in the first period, scoring a takedown just over a minute
into the match. A pair of near falls gave him a 7-1 lead after one.
Vallimont went on the defensive in the second period, allowing just one
takedown, but Schlatter added to his lead in the third with a pair of
takedowns and got the bonus point for riding time.
C.P. Schlatter, who re-entered the rankings at No. 3 this week after an
impressive performance in his return last weekend at the National
Duals, put the Gophers ahead 19-3 with a 14-4 major decision over Bubba
Jenkins at 157. Leading just 5-3 entering the third period, Schlatter
used a pair of takedowns and a two-point near fall in the third to earn
the bonus points.
Jeremy Larson extended Minnesota’s lead to 22-3 with a 9-5 victory over
Penn State’s Dave Rella at 165. Larson trailed 2-1 after the opening
period but took the lead in the second with a pair of takedowns, the
last one coming as the horn sounded. Rella made things interesting with
a takedown 23 seconds into the third, but Larson got the escape and
held on for the victory to even his dual meet record at 6-6 this season.
In a match-up between two ranked wrestlers at 174, Penn State’s No. 7
James Yonushonis narrowly defeated No. 12 Gabriel Dretsch, 3-2. The
match went scoreless in the first period and was tied 2-2 after the
second, but after starting down in the third, Yonushonis scored the
decisive point with an escape 27 seconds into the period.
Second-ranked Roger Kish put the match away for the Gophers with a pin
of Philip Bomberger at 184 pounds. Kish started down in the second
period and quickly scored a reversal to put Bomberger on his back,
earning the fall in 3:20. With the win, Kish improved to 21-1 on the
season.
True freshman Brent Eidenschink faced a tough test in third-ranked Phil
Davis at 197 pounds, and the PSU wrestler put his talent and experience
on display with a pin in 1:36. Davis scored a takedown 50 seconds into
the match and worked Eidenchink to his back to earn the fall.
In the final match of the day, No. 11 Aaron Anspach gave Konrad a
fight, but nothing was going to prevent the senior from Freedom, Wis.,
from leaving his mark in the record books. The bout was scoreless after
the first period, but Konrad took a 3-0 lead with an escape and
takedown in the second. Anspach nearly took Konrad down in the third,
but the big man countered to prevent any damage and added a takedown
with under 30 seconds remaining to clinch the win. With the win, Konrad
took sole possession of the longest winning streak in school history
and has now won 88 of his last 89 matches.
The Golden Gophers return to action next weekend by hosting a pair of
dual meets at the Sports Pavilion, first with No. 15 Michigan on Friday
night at 7 p.m. Purdue comes to town to face Minnesota on Sunday at 2
p.m. CSTV will air Friday night’s match against the Wolverines on tape
delay on Monday, Jan. 29 at 9 p.m. Sunday’s match against the
Boilermakers will be available live in the Gold Zone.
January 21, 2007 at Minneapolis, MN
#1 Minnesota 31, #10 Penn State 12
125: #5 Jayson Ness (MN) fall #2 Mark McKnight (PSU) 4:55
133: #4 Jake Strayer (PSU) dec. Mike Thorn (MN) 14-7
141: #2 Manuel Rivera (MN) tech fall Bryan Heller (PSU) 16-1, 6:33
149: #1 Dustin Schlatter (MN) maj. dec. Dan Vallimont (PSU) 15-4
157: #3 C.P. Schlatter (MN) maj. dec. Bubba Jenkins (PSU) 14-4
165: Jeremy Larson (MN) dec. Dave Rella (PSU) 9-5
174: #7 James Yonushonis dec. #12 Gabriel Dretsch (MN) 3-2
184: #2 Roger Kish (MN) fall Philip Bomberger 3:20
197: #3 Phil Davis (PSU) fall Brent Eidenschink (MN) 1:36
Hwt: #1 Cole Konrad (MN) dec. #11 Aaron Anspach (PSU) 5-1
